There are only 72 years remaining on my flat in Wootton. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Wootton.

I have just started marketing my basement flat in Wootton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Wootton where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Wootton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wootton from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wootton can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Wootton state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.

What makes a Wootton lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Wootton is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I acquired a garden flat in Wootton, conveyancing formalities finalised 2003. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Wootton with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2092

With only 67 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £10,500 and £12,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in Wootton